06/24/2010

Your Next Job with No Sleight of Hand

Manager: "Stay with me, keep doing what you are doing and I'll take care of you"

You: "But I've been doing this job for a long time and this other opportunity looks like it can be good for me and I'd like to go do it"

Manager: "That's what you think but I'll be able to give you more responsibility in this role over time and within 6 months I'll be able to promote you".

- - and - -

"Follow the cards and tell me where the Queen is".

Don't make the second bet and be very, very thoughtful before you take the first bet.

You have to ask yourself if your manager has the same interest and commitment to you career as you do. S/he should, but it isn't always the case.

Why? Because your manager is a human being, someone who just might have her/his career interest ahead of yours. Whenever someone moves out of a job, it is a challenge to find qualified backfill and get that person up to speed. It is so easy, so convenient to have you just stay. So you might hear the words about your career, but you have to judge the sincerity.

Also, keep in mind that staying in the same place isn't necessary the right approach for growing your career. Breadth of experience can count for a lot and you should also think about avoiding stagnation. Take the long view when thinking about a job change. Leverage your mentors and perhaps even trust them more than your manager.

[Some negative vibes here and I'm sorry. Some managers really do take the broader view and care about your career as much as you do. They also could take a broader view than you would be able to. As I've said before generalities are tough - but I still like the message of this post.]

Nonetheless, you have to decide what is important in your career. Only you are able to think about the job and your career and also put it in context of your personal life choices. When bringing life into the thinking, there is no right answer, except your answer!

And, as a last piece advice, please ensure that your mentor isn't directly in your line of management as s/he might just be asking you to identify which cup has the ball under it.

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Wow, just had this situation this week. A great employee has been doing the same thing extremely well for four years and wants more responsibility and job growth potential...and we want to keep him. So new job with more responsibility (and money) for him! Some will be immediate and some will take a few months, as we hire someone to take his current responsibilities. And it's funny, thinking about not only as a resource but also as a human really made doing the right thing easy: a true win-win.